At eighteen, Jaele's life is shattered when her family is murdered by a band of raiders, members of a long-accursed race. Overwhelmed by rage and grief, alone for the first time in her life, and fuelled by childhood myths of a warrior queen, Jaele sets out on an epic quest for vengeance. With lyricism and imaginative power, A Telling of Stars explores the nature of love, grief and mourning. In Jaele, first-time novelist Caitlin Sweet has created a passionate, immensely affecting heroine. Jaele follows her heart, sometimes bravely, sometimes foolishly, and in the course of her quest, attains a difficult and liberating wisdom.